Ranked #1 in popularity, business administration & management is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 90 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for business administration & management students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 8,944 master's degrees in business administration & management to qualified students.
Choosing a Great Business Administration & Management School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of business administration & management for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Early-Career Earnings
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Major Focus - How much a school focuses on business administration & management students vs. other majors.
Major Demand - The number of business administration & management students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
Student Debt - How easy is it for business administration & management to pay back their student loans after receiving their master's degree.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized business administration & management related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for business administration & management students working on their master's degree.
More Ways to Rank Business Administration & Management Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Business Administration & Management in the Plains States Region
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in business administration & management. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
18 Top Plains States Region Schools for a Master's in Business Administration
It is difficult to beat Washington University in St Louis if you wish to pursue a master's degree in business administration & management. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Washington University in St Louis get an earnings boost of around $55,546 above the average income of business administration & management majors.
It's difficult to beat University of Minnesota - Twin Cities if you wish to pursue a master's degree in business administration & management. Located in the city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a very large student population.
Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities make $57,967 more than the standard business administration student.
It's hard to beat University of St Thomas Minnesota if you wish to pursue a master's degree in business administration & management. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, UST MN is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management major at University of St Thomas Minnesota earn $42,391 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
University of Iowa is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in business administration & management. Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Iowa City.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management major at University of Iowa earn $41,628 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
SLU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Louis.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management program at Saint Louis University make $6,629 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
KU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Lawrence.
Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from University of Kansas make $21,441 more than the typical business administration grad.
UNL is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Lincoln.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management program at University of Nebraska - Lincoln make $38,213 above the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Creighton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Omaha.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management degree program at Creighton University earn $10,303 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Located in the distant town of Winona, SMU MN is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management major at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota make $13,261 above the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
Bellevue University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Bellevue.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management program at Bellevue University get $6,071 above the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management program at Drake University get $16,115 more than the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the large suburb of Saint Paul, Bethel University Minnesota is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Those business administration & management students who get their master's degree from Bethel University Minnesota make $13,368 more than the typical business administration graduate.
K -State is a large public university located in the city of Manhattan.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management degree program at Kansas State University make $5,740 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Saint Paul, St. Kate's is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Master's recipients from the business administration & management major at St Catherine University make $21,375 more than the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Minneapolis, Augsburg is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Business Administration & Management master's degree recipients from Augsburg University get an earnings boost of about $18,042 above the average income of business administration & management graduates.
Rest of the Top Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
Additional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Business Administration & Management students in the Plains States Region that almost earned our Best Business Administration & Management Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Your choice of business administration & management for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
